Nothing Lasts Forever (10 page)

“I think this one is perfect for Kevin,” Jon said. He picked out a tough little turtle, it’s name Raphael, the biggest, baddest brawler of them all. “Say’s he’s the toughest out of the four here. Let’s get it.”

“Wait, he needs this shield and some battle gear.” After they gathered up everything and paid for it in cash, Abby stood outside the door in the mall as people stepped out of her way. She stood frozen in the walkway, the bag held close to her as she counted her left over money. “Jon, ooops.”

“We didn’t eat yet,” he said and knew there wasn’t enough money left to have a nice engagement dinner. “We can take the turtle back,” he teased because he knew neither one of them would.

She laughed. “You are so not right, Jon Hatfield. I have eleven bucks. We can share a hot pretzel and lemonade.”

“Give me the money, I’ll go for the goods.” He joined her twenty minutes later after he waited in line behind a family who couldn’t make up their minds what type of soft pretzel they wanted. Jon was about to find another stand when they finished their order.

Abby was back on the wooden bench in front of the fountain where he proposed. He split the pretzel in half and handed her some. “This spot here will always be our special place,” she told him.

He took a bite of the cinnamon-sugar flavored dough and chewed, his thoughts on the past few hours. “I’m still going to get the ring, Abby. As soon as my cards come in, it will be yours. You deserve that one.”

She kissed him with sugar all over her mouth. “If you do, then we’ll have to come back here and do this again.”

He kissed her this time, taking his time, filling himself with her as she flung her arms around his neck and pushed herself against him. The granules of sugar glistened on her face as he delved in to her mouth in a slow, deep kiss.

“I kind of like my seventy-nine dollar ring, love. It’s meaning will always be with me so why should I ever need anything else?”

He grinned. “If you want to be reminded how a little old gray-haired lady and Elvis impersonator cleaned us out, well then, it’s up to you.”

She hugged him again before taking another bite of the pretzel. “I’m starving. I need more food.” Jon watched in amusement as she stood up and began to play with Penny right before her eyes lit up. They began a whole skit of tricks and people began to gather around to watch. By this time, Abby took off her shoes and placed one out in front of them.

Jon shook his head when people began to throw change in the shoe. Then Abby rolled out a dollar bill from inside her pocket and held it up to Penny. The dog went up on her hind legs and took it from her master, danced around in two circles before her nose dipped in to the shoe as she let the dollar drop.

Observers began to hand Penny dollar bills for a dance. Penny danced over and over as Abby clapped her hands to a steady rhythm and beat. Jon wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed at the way Abby begged for dollars or enjoy the fun. He decided he liked the way she took matters in her own hands.

After about twenty minutes, two mall cops looked over at the large crowd. “Abby, we gotta go,” Jon told her. “Cops!” Without a permit to perform, the possibility of arrest was pretty certain.

“Shoot!” She gathered up the shoe and commanded Penny to run by her side. They lost themselves in the crowd to hide from the mall cops. Then dashed off one of the side malls until they escaped outside.

“I think we’re good.”

Abby pulled the money from the shoe. “Twenty eight dollars. Let’s walk over to the burger joint for something to eat.”

Jon grasped her fingers for the walk across the parking lot, away from the mall cops. “You know we can get arrested for soliciting on public grounds. Baby, we don’t have any money to bail ourselves out.”

Abby covered her mouth and her shoulders shook. He didn’t mean to upset her or scare her. When he tried to tell her so her shoulders shook even more. Then a loud sound came from her and she stopped in the middle of the parking lot as she grabbed her stomach and roared with laughter.

Jon watched her, incredulous. How could he stay mad at her antics when she was the most fun person he ever went on a road trip with? He began to laugh as well. The thing is they didn’t get caught and Penny and Abby did put on one hell of a show. “I’d say it was worth twenty eight bucks.”

Two burgers, shared fries and two chocolate shakes sat in the middle of their picnic outside the mall burger joint. The manager threw a fit when she tried to let Penny inside, so Jon ordered and they sat on the grass under an oriental tree with pink blooming leaves eating their meal.

“This is nice.”

“It’s not what I wanted for our engagement meal but I’ve learned nothing is normal when it comes to you, Abby.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“You bet. As soon as our cards come in we’re doing a night on Beale Street. I’m going to wine and dine you, so get ready.”

She leaned over and gave him a slow, meaningful kiss. “I can’t wait, but what about tonight.”

He reached over and pulled her on to his lap in the middle of the parking lot in broad daylight. He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her like they were alone in the middle of their own bedroom. She moaned in his mouth. Her hands reached across his shoulders and dug in to his skin as she straddled him. A horn began to beep all at once.

Jon tore himself away from her lips to find the bus driving towards them in the far end of the parking lot, it’s horn going off in sudden short bursts. “Time to go,” he said, his voice hoarse.

Abby straightened her clothes and grabbed his hand while they waited for the bus. “You turn me on Doctor Hatfield.”

He grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet, baby.”

Chapter 9

Abby stretched outside on the patio before she walked up to the office for their mail. “Come on Penny, let’s take a walk.” The two began to head down the road toward the white building that housed the offices, along with a small laundry and gym. There was even a large room filled with tables and chairs. The white cement building was empty this time of morning but Abby liked getting started before the crowds got up. “Is anyone here?” she sang out at the counter.

A shuffle and some noises from below got her attention. “Mind helping?” she heard and walked through a door behind the office counter.

“Hello?”

“Down here,” a tiny voice said. Abby made her way through the door and down a set of stairs into a basement. Shelves lined the one side of the wall where a little lady was filling them with product from a row of boxes on the floor. When she saw Abby she smiled. “Hello dear.”

“Good morning. What’s going on?”

“Oh, getting ready for the storm. This is our makeshift storm shelter. If you hear sirens go off, you and your man make your way up here and join us. It blows over quick enough but you never know. This is where you want to be to stay safe.”

“That sounds a bit scary. I didn’t realize there were bad storms in the area.”

The tiny lady shook her head. “Most of the time we’re okay. We’ve had fair weather for a long time but I’ve been listening to the reports. A string of small tornadoes hit outer counties in the last few days. It’s always good to be prepared in case.”

Abby nodded but didn’t take her words too serious. “Let me help you,” she offered and began to fill the shelves with canned goods from one of the boxes. “Is it possible to get stuck down here for a long time?”

“Never happened yet. I know the last owners of the campground had a bad tornado where they lost everything a few years back. So when they rebuilt, they dug out this basement shelter to make sure there was a safe place to hide from the trees and such that can be dangerous. Don’t worry, you should be okay.”

Abby noticed a ham radio sitting on a makeshift table and a stack of pillows and blankets high up on some shelves, along with a few large coolers. She finished loading the cans on the wooden shelves. “Do you have a can opener down here? What if the electric goes off?”

The little lady chuckled. “Honey, you don’t need an electric can opener when you have one of these.” She reached in to a basket on the shelf and dug out a metal apparatus she unfolded. It was tiny and one side pointy. She looked up at Abby and smiled as if the piece of metal was a gift from the heavens.

“What in the world is this?” Abby took the lightweight metal piece.

“P-38, Army issue, one of their greatest inventions. This little piece of metal will open a can like nobody’s business.”

Abby handed it back, confused. “I can’t imagine.”

“You’ll see.”

“Hello!” Jon’s voice echoed down the stairs.

“Jon. Down here.” She began to walk towards the steps because his voice sounded odd. Disturbed.

His booted feet pummeled down the steps and he stopped at the bottom, his face a series of sadness and torture. A slow cry escaped her lips. She pressed her hand to her cheek. Her whole body began to shake. The incredible feeling of doom washed over her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “What?” she whispered and wished she never had.

Jon stood there, his chest heaving, his words desperate. “We need to get to the hospital right now. Kevin took a turn for the worst.”

She shook. “What do you mean? He was doing great?”

Jon reached out and took her hand. “No time to talk, Abby, we need to get there right now. I have a cab waiting.”

Abby followed Jon, speechless. She turned to look at Mary Jane, the little lady who filled up the shelves with food, batteries and survival accessories. It felt as if he were dragging her up the steps because it was hard to put one foot in front of the other. “How bad?” she asked.

Jon shook his head and helped her in to the cab. He shrugged. “I grabbed some cash out of the safe. Did you get our mail?”

Abby shook her head. “I didn’t get a chance. Jon? What if he-” Jon’s arms went around her and held on to her tight. He still smelled like the morning shower, his scent dark and spicey. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Jon raked a hand through his hair, a sign Abby began to understand whenever he had something on his mind. He looked at her then out the window.

“Jon, please. I need to know what we’re about to walk in to.”

His chest heaved. He sucked in a deep breath so loud Abby could hear the noise loud and clear. “They are afraid he may have had a stroke.”

“A stroke? A five year old? What! How?”

“His brain injury. Let’s wait and see until we get there, okay?” Jon tried to be strong but she could see the fear in his eyes, how his face, so solemn, became pale and worried. He had a hard time looking at her so he kept his face towards the window at the cars zooming past.

He smacked the back of the driver’s seat. “Mister, can you move this cab any faster?”

“Sorry sir, there’s a bus ahead.”

“Jon, calm down.” Abby wrapped her arms around his waist. She could feel his rigid body begin to relax when he realized the cab couldn’t move any faster. A large sigh escaped his lips. “Tell me what you know.” Abby prodded.

Jon stretched his neck and lay his head against hers. “It’s possible Kevin had an Ischemic stroke. One of his arteries got injured when he fell out of the window. He’s been through terrible trauma, this may be more than he can handle.” Jon closed his eyes as if he didn’t want to face the world. He took her hand and brought it to his chest. He sat still, her hand in his as she felt the steady thump of his heartbeat against his chest.

“Everything will be fine, Jon. It will be okay.” Abby closed her eyes too. There was a dread so strong in her heart she couldn’t let him know.

“What if it isn’t? What then?” Jon’s weakened state broke her heart. It was difficult dealing with her own emotions but he began to unravel. Jon always kept it together, he was the strong one and yet here he was, about to lose it himself.

The cab came to a stop in front of the entrance. Jon flung open the door, helped Abby out, then followed suit. He still had a hold of her hand as they ran through the lobby towards the elevator.

“Jon, Abby!” Sallie raised her arm to get their attention. “ICU, he’s there.” The doors closed. The ride up felt like it took forever, but in reality took a few seconds. Abby stepped out from the elevator, unsure which way to go until she noticed the silver-plated plaque on the wall with an arrow that pointed to ICU.

When Jon tugged on her arm, Abby’s feet stayed planted to the floor, no longer able to move towards the place where Kevin clung to life. Jon stopped and must have realized how scared she was. “I’m sorry Abby. We have to do this.” He took a few steps towards her and then gathered her in his arms. “We can do this, together.” His eyes bore in to hers. He was the strong one again, no longer the man in the cab who almost lost his composure. She took a deep breath, nodded and followed him through the doors.

Monitors beeped. The sounds of machines that held the life of patients rang in her ears. The pull of air being suctioned through tubes and then the sound of it being released became so loud she wanted to place her hands over her ears. Their footsteps on the floor sounded small compared to the commotion in the quiet unit. Every nurse and doctor knew what to do, where to go and who to help.

Abby looked around for him, but as their steps took them down the hallway, his little life was nowhere to be found. Then by the desk, she felt Jon steps falter and his body became rigid again. She closed her eyes before she looked up and gasped. Her composure weakened, she felt herself go slack against Jon, who held her up with his strong arms. “Take a minute Abby. We can’t go in like this.”